Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 1172 Going to the Hospital for a Checkup

But she's pregnant now, so there's no need to get upset over something like this. Lu Jia gently touched her lower abdomen, where she could already feel the faint fetal movements. As long as the child was born safely, it would be a part of the He family, and everything in the He family would eventually be hers. There was no need to argue with a widow and lower her own status.

She tidied up the dishes, added some firewood to the stove to make sure the kang (heated brick bed) was warm, then blew out the lamp and went to sleep. She tossed and turned a few times during the night, not sleeping soundly—she was thinking about how to make this simpleton understand who was the person he could live with.

The night passed in the blink of an eye. The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and the eastern horizon was beginning to lighten, Lu Jia got up. She ladled out the porridge that had been warming on the stove, and then made two egg pancakes, sprinkling some chopped green onions on the golden-brown surface; they smelled delicious. She called out to He Yuzhu's door, "Brother Zhu, get up early! The porridge is ready; it'll get cold if you don't eat it soon."

He Yuzhu was taken aback by this unprecedented attentiveness. He rubbed his eyes and came out of the inner room, his hair disheveled from sleep. Seeing a hot breakfast on the table, along with a small dish of his favorite pickled radish, he felt even more guilty, but still quickly replied, "Okay, I'll get up right away." He quickly finished his breakfast, picked up his toolbox, and was about to leave, saying, "I have to go to the factory to prepare ingredients; if I'm late, the fresh vegetables will be taken."

Lu Jia didn't stop him, only smiling and reminding him, "Be careful on the road, don't delay your business." Once He Yuzhu's figure disappeared through the courtyard gate and his footsteps faded into the distance, her smile vanished, and her eyes turned cold. She turned and walked straight towards Gu Nan's house—she wanted to see if this silly Zhuzi had really gone to the factory.

At this moment, Gu Nan was sitting on a small stool in the courtyard, watching Ran Qiuye play with the child. The little guy had just turned one year old, wearing a red bib, his chubby arms and legs like lotus roots. Ran Qiuye was holding him high, and he was giggling, drool dripping onto his chin. When Gu Nan saw Lu Jia come in, he just nodded indifferently and continued to carve a wooden horse for the child. The carving knife moved across the wood, leaving smooth curves, without saying a word.

Ran Qiuye put the child down, wiped the child's drool with a handkerchief, then wiped her own hands, and asked with a smile, "Jia-mei, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Lu Jia covered her slightly protruding belly, a hint of helplessness on her face, and a touch of grievance in her voice: "Sister Qiuye, I had arranged for Zhuzi to accompany me to my prenatal checkup, but he said he had an emergency at the factory and couldn't get away. You see... are you free today? Could you come with me to the hospital? I'm a little nervous going alone." As she spoke, her eyes reddened slightly, as if she were genuinely afraid.

The sunlight slanted across the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), like a layer of scattered gold, making the plush teddy bear beside the child's pillow glow warmly. Lu Jia stood in the middle of the room, supporting her back; her belly was already quite prominent. Her face was earnest: "Teacher Ran, could you accompany me to the clinic? The doctor said I need a follow-up check-up in the next couple of days. He Yuzhu can't leave work, and it's really inconvenient for me to go alone. There's no one to even offer me a drink of water on the way."

Ran Qiuye didn't respond immediately. She was folding the baby's clothes in her hands, and her gaze unconsciously turned to Gu Nan, who was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She knew that there was always some awkwardness between Lu Jia and Gu Nan. When they met in the courtyard, they would avoid each other with their eyes, revealing an indescribable distance. Now that Lu Jia had specifically asked her to come along, she couldn't help but wonder if he had other intentions.

Gu Nan was shaking a red silk rattle drum, the "dong dong" sound making the child on the kang (heated brick bed) giggle and wave his chubby little hands to grab it. He looked up at Lu Jia, a barely perceptible hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes—this woman had been loitering around the yard lately, her gaze towards him like it held a needle, carrying an inexplicable hostility, yet she hadn't made a move. Now, her sudden request for Ran Qiuye to accompany her to the clinic was highly unusual.

But he didn't say anything, only nodded slightly to Ran Qiuye. He wanted to see what she was really up to.

"Okay." Seeing that Gu Nan had no objections, Ran Qiuye agreed and turned to him, "Why don't you stay home and look after the child for a while? Lu Jia's health really isn't good enough for her to go alone. Someone will need to look after her on the way."

Gu Nan hummed in agreement, his gaze returning to the child. The little guy was grabbing his finger and putting it in his mouth, drooling all over the back of his hand, making it sticky. But he didn't pull away. Instead, he imitated Ran Qiuye, gently pinching the child's soft cheek with his fingertips. His movements were clumsy, like handling a fragile object, yet they revealed a rare tenderness.

Ran Qiuye found a blue cloth bag, stuffed in a clean diaper and a small can of milk powder, then took out some loose change from the drawer, folded it up and put it in. She turned to Lu Jia and said, "Let's go, go early and come back early, don't keep the child waiting."

As soon as the two stepped out of the courtyard gate, Gu Nan put down the rattle drum, got up and walked to the window. He called out softly into the shadow of the pile of withered branches and leaves at the base of the wall: "Hei Zi."

"Woof." A low bark rang out, and a dark shadow emerged from behind the woodpile—it was a half-grown black dog with smooth fur that looked as if it had been oiled, pointed ears that stood up, and eyes that were as black and bright as two ink beads. It was the stray dog ​​that Gu Nan had picked up from the alleyway a while ago. It looked inconspicuous, but it was very clever.

The little black dog trotted to the windowsill, its tail gently brushing the ground, and lowered its head to rub against the wall, as if waiting for instructions.

Gu Nan's voice was low, and the gentleness in his eyes was gone from when he was playing with the child: "Follow them and see what Lu Jia is up to. Don't get too close and don't disturb them. Especially the health center. Observe who she meets and what she says, and remember it carefully."

Hei Zi seemed to understand, barked again, flicked its tail, and turned to run out of the yard. Its small body was as agile as a shadow, silently following Ran Qiuye and Lu Jia not far behind. Every now and then it would dart into the grass by the roadside, only its two bright black eyes showing as it stared ahead.

Gu Nan returned to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw the child waving his little hands, wanting a hug. He clumsily scooped the child up from the kang. The little guy stopped fussing when he was held in his arms, but just stared at him with his big, dark eyes. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed the button on Gu Nan's chest, giggling and drooling down his chin onto Gu Nan's clothes.

He felt no amusement, however. Lu Jia's barely concealed hostility was like a thorn embedded in his flesh; it would make him uneasy if it wasn't removed. The more she didn't act, the more it meant she was brewing something big. This time, she invited Ran Qiuye along under the pretext of a follow-up examination; perhaps she wanted to use Ran Qiuye's trust to do something, or perhaps she wanted to say something bad about him in front of her.

The baby in her arms started whimpering, pouting for milk, probably hungry. Gu Nan remembered Ran Qiuye's usual steps for preparing formula, clumsily scooped two spoonfuls of formula into the bottle, added warm water, tightened the cap, shook it, and tested the temperature of the nipple several times before daring to put it to the baby's mouth to make sure it wasn't too hot.